As co-president of Enactus, a campus group that promotes
social entrepreneurship, Kalamazoo College Scholar Edwin Salvatierra is working
to make a lasting impact in the Kalamazoo, Michigan, community.

Under Edwin’s leadership, Enactus partners on a workforce
readiness program with Ministry with Community (MwC), a local organization that
serves people struggling with poverty and mental illness. MwC members create greeting cards to enhance their skills and generate revenue for the
organization.

“We’re really looking forward to making a difference in
these people’s lives,” says Edwin, a sophomore. “Learning skills like card making
is not only a great first step towards financial independence for their current
members, but will help to raise more money for the center.”

MwC already partners with the Kalamazoo College Bookstore by
selling items from the Soap for Hope line, and hopes to do the same with the
unique, hand-made greeting cards. Initial funding for the program was acquired
from the Kalamazoo College Student Commission, and Edwin hopes that the MwC
partnership will become self-sustaining.

“This project
continues to challenge my peers and me to think of ways to use our education and
innovation to try and solve real world problems,” says Edwin. “We all hope to
make a lasting mark on our community.”